Alloy.



ran snares ea ent ies.

GROVER C. HOLDER, OF ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Patented Feb. 9,1915.

Serial No. 841,940.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GROVER, C. HOLDER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Altoona, in the county of'Blair, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Alloys, of which the following is a true and exact description.

My present invention consists in a novel alloy, of which nickel, lead and copper form the main constituents.

My novel alloy is especially intended and adapted for use as a material out of which to form metallic rod packing rings, suitable for use on the piston rods of locomotives employing superheated steam, and under similar conditions. A material suitable for the purpose specified must have a melting point sufliciently high to withstand the maximum temperature to which it is exposed, and should be softenough not to cut the rod to which it is applied, and to take a bearing thereon immediately upon applica-' tion; and, on the other hand, should be hard enough to prevent its own too rapid attrition.

The percentages of nickel, copper and lead in my alloy may vary with conditions, as followsznickel, 3 to 9 per cent; copper, 20 to 30 per cent; and lead, 61 to 77 per cent.

A composition formed of 7 4 per cent. lead,

20 per cent. copper, and 6 per cent. nickel,-

has given excellent results. This composition has a Brinell hardness of approximately 8.25, and an actual melting point of 1500 F., though lead begins to bleed out at a temperature of approximately 1050 F. This composition is comparatively strong andelastic, tests showing its ultimate tensile strength to be approximately 4426 pounds per square inch, and its elastic limit approximately 2065 pounds per square inch.

The hardness of the alloy may be increased by increasing the copper content, and with 30 per cent. copper a Brinell hardness of 11.28 has been obtained. For certain types of packing rings the specific composition given above, having a hardness of 8.25 is highly satisfactory, but for certain other types. of packing, however, the copper content may well be increased.

The presence of iron in amount'up .to

.of one per cent, and of manganese in amount up to .3 of one per cent, has no appreciable bad efi'ect on the composition;

coal.

and this is of-considerable economical importance, asit enables me to employ as a cheap and satisfactory source of all, or the major portion, of the nickel employed in the composition, the natural alloy known as Monel metal. This alloy consists of approximately 66 per cent. nickel, 26 per cent. copper, 4 per cent. iron, and 2.67 per cent. manganese. The use of 10 pounds of Monel metal in a hundred pound charge obviously gives to the resultant composition 6.6 per cent. of nickel, .4 per cent. of iron, and .267 per cent. of manganese.

My novel alloy may advantageously contain a small amount of arsenic, say onefourth of one per cent, as the presence of the arsenic tends to the production of better castings.

In making the alloy, I have successfully employed the following procedure: 1st, melt in a graphite crucible the nickel, or the nickel containing Monel metal, if the latter be employed; 2nd, add the copper slowly to the melted nickel, so as not to chill the melt;

3rd, add the lead to the charge of molten nickel and copper; and 4th, add a flux, consisting, for each hundred pound charge, of approximately one-quarter pound of metallic arsenic, two ounces of red oxid of mercury, and a few ounces of powdered char- I introduce this flux into the molten mass by means of a bomb. The bomb employed is simply a small copper cup used for convenience to enable the melter to plunge the flux to the bottom of the crucible, Where it will be effective, and will not volatilize as would be the case with the arsenic and mercuric oxid if allowed to remain on the surface of molten metals. The charcoal reduces oxids in the molten metal and prevents further oxidization. The arsenic and mercuric oxid aid in holding the lead in suspension, thereby giving a uniform alloy. The application ofheat to the crucible is maintained until the charge has reached the proper pouring temperature, which is approximately 2000 F., when the alloy is poured into suitable molds.

Having now described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: V

1. An alloy comprising as main constituents nickel, copper and lead, in the fOllQW- 2. An alloy comprising as main constitw I the case of manganese.

3. An alloy comprlslng as main constituents nickel, copper and lead, in the following proportions: nickel, 3' to 9 per. .cent.; copper, 20 to 30 per cent; and lead, 61 to 77 per cent; and containing approximately .25 per cent. of arsenic.

, 4. Themethod of forming an alloy comprising as main constituents nickel, copper and lead, in the following proportions:

nickel, 3 to 9 per cent; copper, '20 to 30 per cent; and lead, 6]} to 77 per cent, which consists'in adding together copper, lead and Monel metal, employing the latter to supply all or the major'portion of the nickel required but using it' in amount insuflicient to cause the iron and manganese contained therein to formmore than .5 'per cent. and

..3 per cent. respectively, of the alloypr'oduced, and adding nickel if necessary to obtain the desired nickel contained in the alloy produced.-

GROVER C. HOLDER- Witness'es:

M. E. MoDoNNELL, W. J- HAMOR. 

